ATTACKED BY THE FEDERALS--ATTEMPT TO RELIEVE VICKSBURG--CAPTURE OF
BERWICK'S BAY.
Increased activity of the enemy at Berwick's Bay in the first days of
April indicated an advance; and to guard against the danger from Grand
Lake, Fuller, whose wounds in the Cotton affair were partially healed,
was sent to Alexandria to complete repairs on the Queen and convert one
or two other steamers into gunboats. It was hoped that he might harass
the enemy on Grand Lake, delay the landing of troops, and aid the little
garrison at Butte a la Rose in defending the Atchafalaya. Fuller was as
energetic as brave, but the means at his disposal were very limited.
Accompanied by a tender, he descended the Atchafalaya on the Queen,
leaving orders for his steamers to follow as soon as they were armed.
They failed to reach him, and his subsequent fate will be mentioned.
On the 10th of April the enemy had assembled at Berwick's sixteen
thousand men under Weitzel, Emory, and Grover ("Report on the Conduct of
the War," vol. ii., page 309). On the 12th Weitzel and Emory, twelve
thousand strong, advanced up the Teche against Bisland, while Grover,
with four thousand men, embarked on transports to turn our position by
Grand Lake. Weitzel and Emory came in sight of our lines before
nightfall, threw forward skirmishers, opened guns at long range, and
bivouacked; and our scouts reported the movement on the lake. My
dispositions were as follows: Mouton, with six hundred men and six guns,
held the left from the lake to the Teche. The Diana in the bayou and two
twenty-fours on the right bank guarded the stream and the main road; and
sixteen hundred men, with twelve guns, prolonged the line to the
railway embankment on our extreme right, held by Green with his
dismounted horsemen. One of Green's regiments, Colonel Reilly, the 2d
Louisiana cavalry, Colonel Vincent, recently embodied, and a section of
guns, were at Hutchin's Point on Grand Lake.
The cannonading ceased at dark, and when all was quiet I rode up to
Franklin, thirteen miles, to look after my rear. A staff officer had
been previously sent to direct the removal of stores from New Iberia,
order down Clack's battalion, some ninety men, from the salt mines, and
communicate with Fuller at Butte a la Rose; but the country around the
Butte was flooded, and he was unable to reach it.
Above Franklin the Teche makes a great bend to the east and approaches
Grand Lake at Hutchin's Point, where there was a shell bank, and a good
road leading to the high ground along the bayou. The road to New Iberia
leaves the Teche at Franklin to avoid this bend, and runs due north
across the prairie. Just clear of the village it enters a small wood,
through which flows a sluggish stream, the Bayou Yokely, crossed by a
bridge. In the wood and near the stream the ground was low and boggy,
impassable for wagons except on a causeway. The distance from Hutchin's
Point to Yokely Bridge was less than that from Bisland; and this bridge,
held by the enemy, made escape from the latter place impossible; yet to
retreat without fighting was, in the existing condition of public
sentiment, to abandon Louisiana.
I remained at Franklin until after midnight, when, learning from Reilly
that no landing had been made at Hutchin's, I returned to Bisland. The
enemy was slow in moving on the 13th, apparently waiting for the effect
of his turning movement to be felt. As the day wore on he opened his
guns, and gradually increased his fire until it became very heavy. Many
of his field pieces were twenty-pounder Parrotts, to which we had
nothing to reply except the Parrott on the Diana and the twenty-fours;
and, as our supply of ammunition was small, Major Brent desired to
reserve it for an emergency.
With the exception of Green's command, the troops on the right of the
Teche were raw, and had never been in action. As shot and shell tore
over the breastwork behind which they were lying, much consternation was
exhibited, and it was manifest that an assault, however feeble, would
break a part of the line. It was absolutely necessary to give the men
some _morale_; and, mounting the breastwork, I made a cigarette, struck
fire with my _briquet_, and walked up and down, smoking. Near the line
was a low tree with spreading branches, which a young officer, Bradford
by name, proposed to climb, so as to have a better view. I gave him my
field glass, and this plucky youngster sat in his tree as quietly as in
a chimney corner, though the branches around were cut away. These
examples, especially that of Captain Bradford, gave confidence to the
men, who began to expose themselves, and some casualties were suffered
in consequence.
From the extreme right Colonel Green sent word that his corner was
uncomfortably hot, and I found it so. The battery near him was cut up,
its captain, Sayres, severely wounded, and Major Brent withdrew it.
Green was assured that there were no places on our line particularly
cool, and there was nothing to be done but submit to the pounding.
A heavy fire was concentrated on the twenty-fours and the Diana. Captain
Semmes, son of Admiral Semmes of Alabama fame, and an officer of much
coolness in action, had been detached from his battery and placed in
command of the boat. A message from him informed me that the Diana was
disabled. She was lying against the bank under a severe fire. The waters
of the bayou seemed to be boiling like a kettle. An officer came to the
side of the boat to speak to me, but before he could open his mouth a
shell struck him, and he disappeared as suddenly as Harlequin in a
pantomine. Semmes then reported his condition. Conical shells from the
enemy's Parrotts had pierced the railway iron, killed and wounded
several of his gunners and crew, and cut a steam pipe. Fortunately, he
had kept down his fires, or escaping steam would have driven every one
from the boat. It was necessary to take her out of fire for repairs. To
lose even temporarily our best gun, the thirty-pounder, was hard, but
there was no help for it.
During the day staff officers were frequently sent to Mouton to
ascertain his condition; and, as the bridge over which they passed was
in the line of fire directed on the Diana and the twenty-fours, the
promenade was not a holiday affair.
Several times in the afternoon the enemy appeared to be forming for an
assault; and after my men had become steady, I hoped an attack would be
made, feeling confident of repulsing it.
Night brought quiet, and no report came from Reilly at Hutchin's. No
news seemed good news; for I would have ample time to provide against a
debarkation north of Hutchin's. The force at Bisland was in fine
spirits. Protected by the breastwork, we had suffered but little; and
the Diana was expected to resume her position before morning.
At 9 P.M. appeared Colonel Reilly to make the following report: The
enemy had landed at Hutchin's, several thousand strong, with artillery,
and advanced to the Teche, pushing our people back to and through
Franklin. Reilly had left his command in camp below Franklin, toward
Bisland, but thought the enemy had not reached the village at nightfall.
Here was pleasant intelligence! There was no time to ask questions. I
hoped to cut my way through, but feared the loss of wagons and material.
Mouton was directed to withdraw from the left bank of the bayou, start
the artillery and trains to Franklin, and follow with the infantry.
Green, with his mounted men and a section of guns, was to form the rear
guard; and Semmes was told to hurry his repairs and get the Diana to
Franklin by dawn. As there was no means of removing the two
twenty-fours, they were to be disabled. Leaving Major Brent to look
after his artillery and Major Levy to superintend the prompt execution
of orders, I rode for Franklin, taking Reilly with me. Reaching his
camp, three miles from the town, I found the men sleeping and the trains
parked, though the enemy was so near at hand. The camp was aroused, the
troops were ordered under arms, and Reilly left to move up at once, with
his trains following.
Two hours after midnight, and the village of Franklin was as silent as
the grave. Beyond the last houses, toward New Iberia, a faint light from
some camp fires could be seen. Were the Federals in possession of the
road? Approaching the fires cautiously, I saw a sentinel walking his
post, and, as he passed between me and the light, marked his ragged
Confederate garb. Major Clack had reached this point after dark, and
intended to resume his march to Bisland in the morning. He speedily got
his little band under arms, and in the darkness we beat the wood to our
right. Not a picket nor scout was found, and Yokely Causeway and Bridge
were safe. From the farther edge of the wood, in open fields, Federal
camp fires were visible. It was a wonderful chance. Grover had stopped
just short of the prize. Thirty minutes would have given him the wood
and bridge, closing the trap on my force. Reilly, with his own and
Vincent's regiments of horse and the two guns, came up. The guns were
placed on the road near the Teche, with orders to stand fast. Reilly and
Vincent dismounted their men, sent horses well to the rear, and formed
line in the wood to the left of the guns, with Clack to the left of
Vincent.
The first light of dawn made objects visible and aroused the Federals,
some two hundred yards distant. Advancing rapidly from the wood, our
line poured in a fire and rushed forward with a shout. Taken by
surprise, the Federals fell back, leaving a battery on their right
exposed. To prevent the sleepy gunners from opening, I rode straight on
the guns, followed by my staff and four mounted couriers, and the
gunners made off. All this was easy enough. Surprise and the uncertain
light had favored us; but broad day exposed our weakness, and the enemy
threw forward a heavy line of skirmishers. It was necessary for us to
regain the wood, now four hundred yards to the rear. Officers behaved
admirably in seconding my efforts to encourage and steady their men and
keep them well in hand. Our two guns on the road fired rapidly and
effectively, but the Federals came on in numbers, and their fire began
to tell. Reilly was killed, Vincent wounded in the neck, and many others
went down. At this moment the peculiar whistle of a Parrott shell was
heard, and Semmes appeared with the Diana.
The enemy's advance was arrested; Gray's infantry from Bisland came up;
the wood was occupied; Mouton with the remaining infantry arrived, and
all danger was over. Green, in command of the rear guard, showed great
vigor, and prevented Emory and Weitzel from pressing the trains. Besides
the twenty-fours mentioned, one gun of Cornay's battery, disabled in the
action of the 13th, was left at Bisland, and with these exceptions every
wagon, pot, or pan was brought off. Two months later these guns were
recaptured, much to the delight of our men.
The trains over Yokely Bridge and on the road to New Iberia, Mouton
skillfully withdrew from Grover's front as Green entered Franklin from
below. To facilitate this, Semmes was directed to work the Diana's gun
to the last moment, then get ashore with his crew, and blow up the boat.
With his usual coolness Semmes carried out his instructions, but,
remaining too long near the Diana to witness the explosion he had
arranged, was captured.
The object sought in holding on to Bisland was attained. From this time
forward I had the sympathy and support of the people, and my troops were
full of confidence. Our retreat to Opelousas, by New Iberia and
Vermilionville, was undisturbed, Green with his horse keeping the enemy
in check. Indeed, the pursuit was without energy or vigor. The first
defensible position was at the Bayou Vermilion, thirty miles south of
Opelousas. Here, after an action of some warmth, the enemy was held back
until night and the bridge destroyed. From Opelousas the infantry, by
easy marches, moved to and up the valley of the Red River, where
supplies were abundant. The country was open, and the great superiority
of his numbers enabled the enemy to do as he liked. Mouton, with Green's
horse, marched west of Opelousas. It was hoped that he could find
subsistence between that place and the Mermentou River, and be in
position to fall on the enemy's rear and capture any small force left on
the Teche. I supposed that the Federal army, after reaching Alexandria,
would turn to the east, cross the Mississippi, and invest Port Hudson;
and this supposition proved to be correct.
Meantime, accompanied by a tender, Fuller on the Queen entered Grand
Lake on the 13th, expecting his two armed steamers to follow. On the
morning of the 14th the Federal gunboats from Berwick's Bay appeared,
and Fuller, dispatching the tender up the Atchafalaya to hasten his
steamers, prepared for action, as he doubtless would have done in
presence of Admiral Farragut's fleet. A shell set fire to the Queen, and
Fuller with his crew was captured. On the 20th the enemy's gunboats,
assisted by four companies of infantry, captured Butte a la Rose with
two twenty-four-pounders and sixty men. Semmes, Fuller, and the
prisoners taken from the Queen and at the Butte, were on the transport
Maple Leaf with Captain Fusilier, and escaped in the manner related,
excepting Fuller, who from wounds received in his last action was unable
to walk. Remaining in charge of the Maple Leaf until his friends were
ashore, he restored her to the Federals, was taken to Fort Delaware, and
died in prison. A braver man never lived.
The Federal army reached Opelousas on the 20th of April, and remained
there until the 5th of May, detained by fear of Mouton's horse to the
west. Unfortunately, this officer was forced by want of supplies to move
to the Sabine, more than a hundred miles away, and thrown out of the
game for many days.
In the "Report on the Conduct of the War," vol. ii., pp. 309 and 310,
the Federal General Banks makes the following statements: "During these
operations on the Teche we captured over twenty-five hundred prisoners
and twenty-two guns; destroyed three gunboats and eight steamers"; and
further: "A dispatch from Governor Moore to General Taylor was
intercepted, in which Taylor was directed to fall back into Texas." At
the time, my entire force in western Louisiana was under three thousand,
and it is rather startling to learn that we were all captured. Two
twenty-fours and one field gun were abandoned at Bisland, and two
twenty-fours lost at Butte a la Rose. We scuttled and burnt the Cotton
at Bisland, and blew up the Diana (captured from the enemy) at Franklin.
The Queen (also captured) was destroyed in action on Grand Lake. The
Federals caught two small steamers, the Ellen and Cornie, in the
Atchafalaya, and we destroyed two in the Teche. The other four reported
by General Banks must have come from the realm of the multitude of
prisoners and guns. It also appears from the intercepted dispatch of
Governor Moore that major-generals of the Confederate army were under
the orders of State governors--an original discovery.
The delay of the Federals at Opelousas gave abundant time to remove our
stores from Alexandria. General Kirby Smith, the new departmental
commander, was advised to retire to Shreveport, two hundred miles up Red
River, where, remote from danger or disturbance, he could organize his
administration. Threatened in rear, Fort De Russy was untenable; so the
place was dismantled and the little garrison withdrawn. On the 16th of
April Admiral Porter with several gunboats had passed the Vicksburg
batteries, and the abandonment of De Russy now left the Red River open
to him. He reached Alexandria on the 9th of May, a few hours in advance
of Banks's army. From the 8th to the 11th of the same month some of his
gunboats bombarded Fort Beauregard, on the Washita, but were driven off
by the garrison under Colonel Logan.
At this time I was sorely stricken by domestic grief. On the approach of
the enemy to Alexandria my family embarked on a steamer for Shreveport.
Accustomed to the gentlest care, my good wife had learned to take action
for herself, insisting that she was unwilling to divert the smallest
portion of my time from public duty. A moment to say farewell, and she
left with our four children, two girls and two boys, all pictures of
vigorous health. Before forty-eight hours had passed, just as she
reached Shreveport, scarlet fever had taken away our eldest boy, and
symptoms of the disease were manifest in the other children. The
bereaved mother had no acquaintance in Shreveport, but the Good
Samaritan appeared in the person of Mr. Ulger Lauve, a resident of the
place, who took her to his house and showed her every attention, though
he exposed his own family to great danger from contagion. The second boy
died a few days later. The two girls, older and stronger, recovered. I
was stunned by this intelligence, so unexpected, and it was well perhaps
that the absorbing character of my duties left no time for the
indulgence of private grief; but it was sad to think of the afflicted
mother, alone with her dead and dying, deprived of the consolation of my
presence. Many days passed before we met, and then but for an hour.
My infantry, hardly a thousand strong, with the trains, had marched to
Natchitoches and camped, and some mounted scouts to observe the enemy
were kept in the vicinity of Alexandria.
On page 309 of the "Report" before quoted, General Banks says: "A force
under Generals Weitzel and Dwight pursued the enemy nearly to Grand
Ecore, so thoroughly dispersing his forces that he was unable to
reorganize a respectable army until July." A party of Federal horse
crossed Cane River at Monette's Ferry, forty miles below Grand Ecore,
and chased a mounted orderly and myself about four miles, then turned
back to Alexandria; but I maintain that the orderly and I were not
dispersed, for we remained together to the end.
The Federal army withdrew from Alexandria on the 13th of May, and on the
23d crossed the Mississippi and proceeded to invest Port Hudson;
whereupon I returned by steamer to Alexandria, directing the infantry at
Natchitoches to march back to the Teche to unite with Mouton. Having
obtained supplies on the Sabine, Mouton and Green, the latter promoted
to brigadier for gallant conduct, returned to the Teche country, but
arrived too late to cut off the enemy, who with large plunder had
crossed to the east side of Berwick's Bay, where he had fortifications
and gunboats.
At Alexandria a communication from General Kirby Smith informed me that
Major-General Walker, with a division of infantry and three batteries,
four thousand strong, was on the march from Arkansas, and would reach me
within the next few days; and I was directed to employ Walker's force in
some attempt to relieve Vicksburg, now invested by General Grant, who
had crossed the Mississippi below on the 1st of May.
The peculiar position of Vicksburg and the impossibility of approaching
it from the west bank of the Mississippi have been stated, and were now
insisted upon. Granting the feasibility of traversing the narrow
peninsula opposite the place, seven miles in length and swept by guns
afloat on both sides, what would be gained? The problem was to withdraw
the garrison, not to reenforce it; and the correctness of this opinion
was proved by the fact that Pemberton could not use the peninsular route
to send out messengers.
On the other hand, I was confident that, with Walker's force, Berwick's
Bay could be captured, the Lafourche overrun, Banks's communication with
New Orleans interrupted, and that city threatened. Its population of two
hundred thousand was bitterly hostile to Federal rule, and the
appearance of a Confederate force on the opposite bank of the river
would raise such a storm as to bring General Banks from Port Hudson, the
garrison of which could then unite with General Joseph Johnston in the
rear of General Grant. Too late to relieve Port Hudson, I accomplished
all the rest with a force of less than three thousand of all arms.
Remonstrances were of no avail. I was informed that all the Confederate
authorities in the east were urgent for some effort on our part in
behalf of Vicksburg, and that public opinion would condemn us if we did
not _try to do something_. To go two hundred miles and more away from
the proper theatre of action in search of an indefinite _something_ was
hard; but orders are orders. Time was so important that I determined to
run the risk of moving Walker by river, though the enemy could bring
gunboats into the lower Red and Washita, as well as into the Tensas, and
had some troops in the region between this last and the Mississippi.
Steamers were held in readiness, and as soon as Walker arrived his
command was embarked and taken up the Tensas. I went on in advance to
give notice to the boats behind of danger; for, crowded with troops,
these would have been helpless in the event of meeting an enemy.
Without interference, a point on the Tensas opposite Vicksburg was
reached and the troops disembarked. Here Captain Harrison's mounted men,
previously mentioned, met us. For safety the steamers were sent down the
Tensas to its junction with the Washita, and up the last above Fort
Beauregard; and bridges were thrown over the Tensas and Macon to give
communication with the terminus of the Monroe Railway.
Walker rapidly advanced to the village of Richmond, midway between the
Tensas and Mississippi, some twelve miles from each, where he surprised
and captured a small Federal party. At Young's Point, ten miles above
Vicksburg, on the west bank of the river, the enemy had a fortified
camp, and a second one four miles above Young's, both occupied by negro
troops. Holding one brigade in reserve at the point of separation of the
roads, Walker sent a brigade to Young's and another to the camp above.
Both attacks were made at dawn, and, with the loss of some scores of
prisoners, the negroes were driven over the levee to the protection of
gunboats in the river.
Fifteen miles above Vicksburg the Yazoo River enters the Mississippi
from the east, and twenty-five miles farther up Steele's Bayou connects
the two rivers. Before reaching the Mississippi the Yazoo makes a bend
to the south, approaching the rear of Vicksburg. The right of Grant's
army rested on this bend, and here his supplies were landed, and his
transports were beyond the reach of annoyance from the west bank of the
Mississippi.
As foreseen, our movement resulted, and could result, in nothing. Walker
was directed to desist from further efforts on the river, and move to
Monroe, where steamers would be in readiness to return his command to
Alexandria, to which place I pushed on in advance. Subsequently, General
Kirby Smith reached Monroe direct from Shreveport, countermanded my
orders, and turned Walker back into the region east of the Tensas, where
this good soldier and his fine division were kept idle for some weeks,
until the fall of Vicksburg. The time wasted on these absurd movements
cost us the garrison of Port Hudson, nearly eight thousand men; but the
pressure on General Kirby Smith to _do something_ for Vicksburg was too
strong to be resisted.
At Alexandria I found three small regiments of Texan horse, just
arrived. Together they numbered six hundred and fifty, and restored the
loss suffered in action and in long marches by the forces on the Teche.
Colonel (afterward brigadier) Major, the senior officer, was ordered to
move these regiments to Morgan's Ferry on the Atchafalaya; and by
ambulance, with relays of mules, I reached Mouton and Green on the lower
Teche in a few hours.
The Federals had a number of sick and convalescent at Berwick's Bay, but
the effective force was small. Some works strengthened their positions,
and there was a gunboat anchored in the bay. Mouton and Green were
directed to collect small boats, skiffs, flats, even sugar-coolers, in
the Teche; and the importance of secrecy was impressed upon them.
Pickets were doubled to prevent communication with the enemy, and only a
few scouts permitted to approach the bay. Returning north to Morgan's
Ferry, I crossed the Atchafalaya with Major's command, and moved down
the Fordoche and Grosse-Tete, bayous draining the region between the
Atchafalaya and Mississippi. A short march brought us near the Fausse
Riviere, an ancient bed of the Mississippi, some miles west of the
present channel, and opposite Port Hudson.
Halting the command on the Fordoche, I rode out to the estate of an
acquaintance on Fausse Riviere, whence the noise of battle at Port
Hudson could be heard. Two ladies of the family, recently from New
Orleans, told me that the Federal force left in the city would not
exceed a thousand men; that a small garrison occupied a work near
Donaldsonville, where the Lafourche leaves the Mississippi, and with
this exception there were no troops on the west bank of the river. From
our position on the Fordoche to the Bayou Boeuf, in rear of the
Federal camp at Berwick's Bay, was over a hundred miles. The route
followed the Grosse-Tete to Plaquemine on the Mississippi, and to escape
observation Plaquemine must be passed in the night. Below this point
there was an interior road that reached the Lafourche some distance
below Donaldsonville. Minute instructions and guides were given to
Major.
It was now the 19th of June, and he was expected to reach the Boeuf on
the morning of the 23d. The necessity of punctuality was impressed on
him and his officers, as I would attack Berwick's at dawn on the 23d,
and their cooeperation was required to secure success. Indeed, their own
safety depended on promptness. The men carried rations, with some
forage, and wagons were sent back across the Atchafalaya. Major moved in
time to pass Plaquemine, twenty odd miles, before midnight, and I
hastened to Mouton's camp below Bisland, reaching it in the afternoon of
the 22d.
Fifty-three small craft, capable of transporting three hundred men, had
been collected. Detachments for the boats were drawn from Green's
brigade and the 2d Louisiana horse. Major Hunter of Baylor's Texans was
placed in command, with Major Blair of the 2d Louisiana as second. After
nightfall Hunter embarked his men, and paddled down the Teche to the
Atchafalaya and Grand Lake. Fortunately, there was no wind; for the
slightest disturbance of the lake would have swamped his _fleet_. He had
about twelve miles to make, and was expected to reach before daylight
the northeast end of the island, a mile from Berwick's and the railway
terminus, where he was instructed to lie quiet until he heard General
Green's guns from the west side of the bay, then rush on the rear of the
Federal works. During the night Green placed a battery opposite the
gunboat and railway station, and deployed five hundred dismounted men
along the shores of the bay, here eight hundred yards wide. The battery
was run up by hand, and every precaution to secure silence taken. At
dawn of the 23d (June, 1863) our guns opened on the gunboat, and
speedily drove it away. Fire was then directed on the earthwork, where
the enemy, completely surprised, had some heavy pieces with which he
attempted to reply. A shout was heard in his rear, and Hunter with his
party came rushing on. Resistance ceased at once; but before Hunter
closed in, a train of three engines and many carriages escaped from the
station toward the Boeuf, seven miles away. I crossed in a "pirogue"
with Green, and sent back two flats and several skiffs found on the east
side for his men, who used them to get over, their horses swimming
alongside.
It was a scene of the wildest excitement and confusion. The sight of
such quantities of "loot" quite upset my hungry followers. Wandering
through the station and warehouse, filled with stores, a Texan came upon
a telegraphic instrument, clicking in response to one down the line.
Supposing this to be some infernal machine for our destruction, he
determined to save his friends at the risk of his own life, and smashed
the instrument with his heavy boots; then rushed among his comrades,
exclaiming: "Boys! they is trying to blow us up. I seen the triggers
a-working, but I busted 'em."
Mouton now crossed with some infantry, and order was restored; and
Green, who had brought over several scores of horses, mounted his men
and followed the rail toward the Boeuf. Before reaching it he heard
the noise of the train; then, firing and moving forward, found the train
stopped, and Major, up to time, in possession of the bridge. The capture
of the train was of importance, as it enabled us to operate the thirty
miles of rail between Berwick's and the Lafourche.
In the combined movements described, Green and Major had set out from
points more than a hundred miles apart, the latter marching through a
region in possession or under control of the enemy, while the boat
expedition of Hunter passed over twelve miles of water; yet all reached
their goal at the appointed time. Although every precaution had been
taken to exclude mistakes and insure cooeperation, such complete success
is not often attained in combined military movements; and I felt that
sacrifices were due to Fortune.
In his rapid march from the Fordoche Major captured seventy prisoners
and burned two steamers at Plaquemine. He afterward encountered no enemy
until he reached Thibodeaux, near which place, at Lafourche Crossing,
there was a stockade held by a small force to protect the railway
bridge. Colonel Pyron, with two hundred men, was detached to mask or
carry this stockade, and Major passed on to the Boeuf. Pyron's attack
was repulsed with a loss of fifty-five killed and wounded, Pyron among
the latter; but the enemy, after destroying the bridge, abandoned the
post and three guns and retired to New Orleans.
The spoils of Berwick's were of vast importance. Twelve guns,
thirty-twos and twenty-fours (among which were our old friends from
Bisland), seventeen hundred prisoners, with many small arms and
accouterments, and great quantities of quarter-master's, commissary,
ordnance, and medical stores, fell into our hands. For the first time
since I reached western Louisiana I had supplies, and in such abundance
as to serve for the Red River campaign of 1864. Three fourths of the
prisoners were sick and convalescent men left here, as well as the
stores, by General Banks, when he marched up the Teche in April.
Excepting those too ill to be moved, the prisoners were paroled and sent
to New Orleans under charge of their surgeons.
I was eager to place batteries on the Mississippi to interrupt Banks's
communication with New Orleans; but the passage of Berwick's Bay
consumed much time, though we worked night and day. We were forced to
dismount guns and carriages and cross them piecemeal in two small flats,
and several days elapsed before a little steamer from the upper Teche
could be brought down to assist. It must be remembered that neither
artillery nor wagons accompanied Major's march from the Fordoche.
On the 24th General Green, with Major's men and such of his own as had
crossed their horses, marched for Donaldsonville, sixty-five miles, and
General Mouton, with two regiments of infantry, took rail to Thibodeaux
and sent pickets down the line to Bayou Des Allemands, twenty-five miles
from New Orleans. Our third regiment of infantry remained at the bay,
where Major Brent was at work mounting the captured guns on the southern
end of the island and on the western shore opposite. Gunboats could stop
the crossing, and entrance from the Gulf was open. While we might drive
off "tin-clads" the enemy had boats capable of resisting field guns, and
it is remarkable that, from the 23d of June to the 22d of July, he made
no attempt to disturb us at Berwick's Bay.
General Green reached the vicinity of Donaldsonville on the 27th, and
found an earthwork at the junction of the Lafourche and Mississippi.
This work, called Fort Butler, had a ditch on three sides, and the river
face was covered by gunboats in the stream. The garrison was reported to
be from two to three hundred negro troops. After some correspondence
with Mouton, Green determined to assault the place, and drew around it
five hundred of his men in the night of the 27th. Two hours before dawn
of the 28th Colonel Joseph Phillipps led his regiment, two hundred
strong, to the attack. Darkness and ignorance of the ground caused much
blundering. The levee above the fort was mistaken for the parapet, and
some loss was sustained from the fire of gunboats. Changing direction,
Phillipps came upon the ditch, unknown to him as to Green, who had been
deceived by false information. The ditch passed, Phillipps mounted the
parapet and fell dead as he reached the top. An equally brave man, Major
Ridley, worthy of his leader, followed, and, calling on his men to come,
jumped into the work. Frightened by his appearance, the enemy abandoned
the parapet; but finding that Ridley was alone, returned and captured
him. A dozen men would have carried the place; but the ditch afforded
protection from fire, and the men, disheartened by Phillipps's death,
could not be induced to leave it. Indeed, the largest part of our loss,
ninety-seven, was made up of these men, who remained in the ditch until
daylight and surrendered.
The above statements are taken from the report of Major Ridley, made
after he was exchanged. The affair was unfortunate. Open to fire from
vessels on the river, Fort Butler was of no value to us, and the feeble
garrison would have remained under cover; but, like the Irishman at
Donnybrook, Green's rule was to strike an enemy whenever he saw him--a
most commendable rule in war, and covering a multitude of such small
errors as the attack on Fort Butler.
Meantime I was detained at Berwick's Bay, engaged in hurrying over and
forward artillery and arranging to transport the more valuable stores
into the interior. It was not, however, until near the end of the first
week in July that I succeeded in placing twelve guns on the river below
Donaldsonville. Fire was opened, one transport destroyed and several
turned back. Gunboats attempted to dislodge us, but were readily driven
away by the aid of Green's men, dismounted and protected by the levee.
For three days the river was closed to transports, and our mounted
scouts were pushed down to a point opposite Kenner, sixteen miles above
New Orleans. A few hours more, and the city would have been wild with
excitement; but in war time once lost can not be regained. The unwise
movement toward Vicksburg retarded operations at Berwick's and on the
river, and Port Hudson fell. During the night of the 10th of July
intelligence of its surrender on the previous day reached me, and some
hours later the fall of Vicksburg on the 4th was announced.
An iron-clad or two in Berwick's Bay, and the road at Plaquemine held by
troops, supported by vessels in the river, would close all egress from
the Lafourche, and the enemy could make arrangements to bag us at his
leisure; while Grant's army and Porter's fleet, now set free, might
overrun the Washita and Red River regions and destroy Walker's division,
separated from me by a distance of more than three hundred miles. The
outlook was not cheerful, but it was necessary to make the best of it,
and at all hazards save our plunder. Batteries and outposts were ordered
in to the Lafourche; Green concentrated his horse near Donaldsonville,
the infantry moved to Labadieville to support him, and Mouton went to
Berwick's, where he worked night and day in crossing stores to the west
side of the bay.
On the 13th of July Generals Weitzel, Grover, and Dwight, with six
thousand men, came from Port Hudson, disembarked at Donaldsonville, and
advanced down the Lafourche. Ordering up the infantry, I joined Green,
but did not interfere with his dispositions, which were excellent. His
force, fourteen hundred, including a battery, was dismounted and in
line. As I reached the field the enemy came in sight, and Green led on
his charge so vigorously as to drive the Federals into Donaldsonville,
capturing two hundred prisoners, many small arms, and two guns, one of
which was the field gun lost at Bisland. The affair was finished too
speedily to require the assistance of the infantry.
Undisturbed, we removed not only all stores from Berwick's, but many
supplies from the abundant Lafourche country, including a large herd of
cattle driven from the prairies of Opelousas by the Federals some weeks
before. On the 21st of July, we ran the engines and carriages on the
railway into the bay, threw in the heavy guns, and moved up the Teche,
leaving pickets opposite Berwick's. Twenty-four hours thereafter the
enemy's scouts reached the bay. The timidity manifested after the action
of the 13th may be ascribed to the fertile imagination of the Federal
commander, General Banks, which multiplied my force of less than three
thousand of all arms into nine or twelve thousand.
In the "Report on the Conduct of the War," vol. ii., pages 313 and 314,
General Banks states:
"Orders had been sent to Brashear City [Berwick's] to remove all stores,
but to hold the position, with the aid of gunboats, to the last. The
enemy succeeded in crossing Grand Lake by means of rafts, and surprised
and captured the garrison, consisting of _about three hundred men_. The
enemy, greatly strengthened in numbers, then attacked the works at
Donaldsonville, on the Mississippi, which were defended by a garrison of
two hundred and twenty-five men, including convalescents, commanded by
Major J.D. Bullen, 28th Maine volunteers. The attack was made on the
morning of the 28th of June, and lasted until daylight. The garrison
made a splendid defense, killing and wounding more than their own
number, and capturing as many officers and nearly as many men as their
garrison numbered. The enemy's troops were under the command of General
Green of Texas, and consisted of the Louisiana troops under General
Taylor and five thousand Texas cavalry, making a force of nine to twelve
thousand in that vicinity.
"The troops engaged in these different operations left but _four hundred
men for the defense of New Orleans_. Upon the surrender of Port Hudson
it was found that the enemy had established batteries below, on the
river, cutting off our communication with New Orleans, making it
necessary to send a large force to dislodge them. On the 9th of July
seven transports, containing all my available force, were sent below
against the enemy in the vicinity of Donaldsonville. The country was
speedily freed from his presence, and Brashear City [Berwick's] was
recaptured on the 22d of July."
Here are remarkable statements. Fourteen hundred men and the vast stores
at Berwick's (Brashear City) are omitted, as is the action of the 13th
of July with "all my [his] available force.... The country was speedily
freed from his [my] presence, and Brashear City reoccupied," though I
remained in the country for eleven days after the 9th, and had abandoned
Brashear City twenty-four hours before the first Federal scout made his
appearance. The conduct of Major J.D. Bullen, 28th Maine volunteers,
with two hundred and twenty-five negroes, "including convalescents,"
appears to have surpassed that of Leonidas and his Spartans; but, like
the early gods, modern democracies are pleased by large utterances.
While we were engaged in these operations on the Lafourche, a movement
of Grant's forces from Natchez was made against Fort Beauregard on the
Washita. The garrison of fifty men abandoned the place on the 3d of
September, leaving four heavy and four field guns, with their
ammunition, to be destroyed or carried off by the enemy.